Washington DC (UPI) Jun 7, 2024
NASA has awarded key contracts to a half dozen companies that will supply liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen in support of operations at agency centers and facilities across the United States, the space agency announced Thursday. While not the most high-profile element of the space program, scientists would be unable to perform the work they need to without access to large amounts of cri

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jun 07, 2024
Galactic Energy, a private rocket maker in Beijing, conducted a launch on Thursday afternoon, marking its third launch in the past 10 days. The company reported that the rocket lifted off at 1 pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the northwestern Gobi Desert, sending three remote-sensing satellites into a sun synchronous orbit about 545 kilometers above Earth. Remote sensin

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jun 07, 2024
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), a provider of daily Earth data and insights, announced that its first hyperspectral satellite, Tanager-1, is ready for launch. Supported by the Carbon Mapper Coalition and its philanthropic partners, the spacecraft arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base on June 3rd. It is set to launch as early as July aboard the Transporter-11 Rideshare mission with SpaceX. Tanager-1

Paris, France (SPX) Jun 07, 2024
More than 40 companies, research centers, and international organizations signed the Zero Debris Charter at the Berlin International Airshow (ILA), confirming their dedication to long-term sustainability in space. The Zero Debris Charter, unveiled at the ESA Space Summit in Seville in November 2023, aims for future missions to become debris neutral by 2030. The space community has sh

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Jun 07, 2024
Lunar samples collected from the moon's far side by China's Chang'e 6 mission have been delivered to their final carrier for the return trip to Earth, according to the China National Space Administration. After orbiting the moon for about 56 hours, the sample-loaded ascender of the Chang'e 6 probe docked with the orbiter-reentry capsule combination at

Image: Ahead of World Ocean Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the west of Grand Bahama Island, in the Bahamas.

Boca Chica, United States (AFP) June 6, 2024
SpaceX's massive Starship rocket achieved its first ever splashdown during a test flight Thursday, in a major milestone for the prototype system that may one day send humans to Mars. Scraps of fiery debris came flying off the spaceship as it descended over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia, dramatic video from an onboard camera showed, but it ultimately held together and survived atmos

Washington DC (UPI) Jun 6, 2024
Boeing Starliner astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were welcomed aboard the International Space Station Thursday at 3:45 p.m. following a successful 1:34 p.m. EDT docking. Williams floated into the space station first, joyously greeting the space station crew. Wilmore floated in shortly afterward. The astronauts hugged the ISS crew as they entered from the Starliner spac

Washington (AFP) June 6, 2024
A Boeing Starliner capsule carrying its first ever astronauts docked with the International Space Station on Thursday after overcoming unexpected challenges arising from thruster malfunctions and helium leaks. The spaceship dubbed "Calypso" rendezvoused with the orbital lab at 1:34 pm ET (1734 GMT) over the southern Indian Ocean, allowing crewmates Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to enter a